w/Hot Rod Circuit, Eisley, Acceptance
Mon Nov 17, Showbox, doors 6:30 pm, $12.50 adv/$15 DOS (all ages).
Although you might think differently due to their well-timed mass exposure, Brand New weren't created to fit a mold. They aren't androids built to perfectly fill the current trend in which a band screams over melodies while guitars and bass thrash through thick choruses and songs hold a dark, atmospheric simplicity. It's just their luck that they were all that before the trend even started.
But while their luck has put new fame on the horizon for the Long Island quartet, Brand New have been faced with the challenge of fighting their way out of the "screamo" coop they've been securely locked into since the release of their moody sophomore album, Deja Entendu.
"We sound different than a lot of the bands that we've been boxed in with," says 25-year-old lead singer Jesse Lacey. "But we haven't broken our mold yet. We're going to transcend all those labels that people put on us. A lot of the bands are writing music that sounds exactly the same, but that's how music works, at least the mainstream--you get these trends. We just happened to be picked up with the rest of them."
Unlike the modest and mopey attitude many of his genre-mates like to front these days, Lacey isn't hiding behind any "Are we good enough?" self-loathing. In fact, it's the self-assured attitude that bleeds into his lyrics and music that sets Brand New apart from the rest of the wimpy crowd. Turns out that attitude doesn't just exist on record.
"I know my band, and I know what they're capable of," Lacey states matter-of-factly. "I'm sure it's going to grow into something a lot larger than it is now. We could be grumpy about being called an emo band, but it's really not gonna get us anywhere. The only thing that's gonna get us anywhere is to prove to people that we're a band that's gonna be around for a long time. And I really think we are."
On "Okay, I Believe You, but My Tommy Gun Don't," Lacey sings, "I hope this song starts a craze, the kind of song that ignites the airwaves." Well, it's started a craze all right--now let's hope that Brand New can shine on long enough to finish what they've started.
